Borders, Travel & Law Enforcement
In the past two decades, police and security agencies have expanded their powers to collect personal data. At this point we would like to give a more comprehensive view of the activities of the German authorities.
The SIS is an IT system with a database. It is used for the exchange of information. Users are, for example, foreigners, police and judicial authorities in the Schengen States and diplomatic missions or consular posts. More: Schengen Information System (SIS)
The Visa Information System (VIS) is a system for the exchange of visa data within the Schengen area, which is intended to improve the implementation of the common visa policy. The main objectives of the VIS are to simplify visa application procedures, facilitate checks at external borders and increase security. More: Visa Information System
The Federal Police performs a wide range of law enforcement tasks and is endowed with extensive powers to collect and process data. More: The German Federal Police
Airlines store various information about passengers. This concerns information collected in an airline’s or travel agent’s reservation systems when booking a journey. These records are stored as Passenger Name Records (PNR). More: Passenger Name Records
The Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations is better known under its abbreviation “FIU”. It handles a large number of suspicious transaction reports concerning money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal offences, and processes a large amount of personal data. More: The Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations – FIU
The task of the Customs Investigation Service is to combat customs crime. For criminal prosecution, this service may therefore collect various personal data and intervene widely in informational self-determination. More: Customs Investigation Service
